We had a dropping river level and cooler weather as the month got underway. The Mute swans nesting on the island up at the Fishery only hatched one cygnet this time round, but it seems to be doing fine and has taken to the river in its stride.
There were a few ducks out on the river with young ducklings early on in the month, but the bad weather and predation had taken a heavy toll on them.
We were well into the second half of a very cold May month before the good weather finally arrived. We had a glorious spell of hot weather which was to continue almost up to the end of the month; records were broken in some parts of the country as the mercury hit the low eighties. From early morning through until late evening some days it was hotter than some of Europe, it felt like summer had arrived.
The bees at our hive were busy during this spell, we had one super filled with honey, and another empty one was quickly added for them to continue the good work.
We have got a few Orchids appearing again on the old net green and some patches of Ragged Robin are coming through in places. There were a lot of butterflies about enjoying the heat, Ringlets and Peacocks being the most common.
The swifts have been sighted and the House-martins are back at their usual haunts, as are the Sand-martins.
Cutting grass and painting filled a lot of the working days this month. The tractor and cutter were moved about on the old barge to various locations as we kept on top of the cutting pathways on both sides of the river. The strimmers were also given a bit of work to do around the bothies and areas where tractor access is not so good.
The good weather made life a bit easier when the boats were getting a coat of paint, as soon as one boat was finished - work began on the next one right away. They are looking better for a makeover.
The Burnet rose that was planted along bits of the railway banking is well out in flower now, they give off a very strong scent and there is plenty insect activity around them.
As the month came to an end, the river was back at summer level and the weather had turned a bit wet and cooler.
